Keeping in mind the fact that the format was Mirrodin Block Constructed,this build was incredibly strong against the metagame, which consisted of Affinity and Big Red (see Chris Marshall’s article for an explanation of Big Red). All of the maindeck artifact hate like Viridian Shaman

Since that time, the deck has had to evolve in order to translate fromMirrodin Block Constructed to Type II. The incredible amount of maindeck artifact hate is no longer necessary, as Ravager Affinity is not the only deck that must be taken into consideration when deck building. Also, the relative narrowness of Tooth and Nail

There are quite a few changes that needed to occur to this deck in orderto make it viable for Type II. First, it needed some way to slow downaggro decks in the early game, hence the four copies of Vine Trellis

can no longer be activated, and it also helps against Affinity. Next is the addition of red to the deck. The deck always is able to consistently create gigantic amounts of colorless mana, so there is no reason not to splash red for Fireball

can also serve as an early game board clearer against smaller creatures, such as Goblins. The addition of red also allows for more flexibility in the construction of a sideboard for the deck. What the deck lost to make room for these changes was the ability to maindeck artifact hate. This change is necessary in order to make it viable against decks that don’t run many artifacts, such as Astral Slide

and Goblin Bidding. Goblins are a much bigger problem than is Affinity because of the availability of Patriarch’s Bidding to the Goblins player, so the Affinity hate must be relegated to the sideboard. I recommend the following sideboard for anyone bringing this deck to Regionals next month:

Eight artifact destruction spells seems appropriate, as Affinity is by far the most popular deck in Type II currently, so the sideboard should most definitely pack a lot of punch to counter it. Naturalize

belongs in the sideboard because it is incredibly versatile against any deck that runs annoying creatures, such as B/G Cemetery. The two remaining slots are dedicated to the matchup against any control deck you might face. Darksteel Colossus

is fairly useless against decks without artifacts. The sideboard is versatile enough that it should not change much no matter what your metagame is. As I said last time, when constructing a sideboard just make sure that you keep in mind what your metagame will be and plan accordingly.

I really think this deck is strong in the current Type II, as it is not hated against at all and it runs solutions to any problems that it might face. It may not be Tier 1, but it has game against anything that might be considered Tier 1, so it would not be a bad choice to play at Regionals next month.

That’s all for this installment. Next time I will most likely be looking at Goblin Bidding, another one of the strongest decks in the current Type II metagame. Until then, good luck and play well.

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